Cooking outdoors on a barbeque (BBQ) grill is very popular. Grills come in a variety of forms, including those fueled by charcoal, wood pellets, or gas. The fuel source produces the heat for cooking and the food is placed on a grate or other partially-open support structure above the heat. During use, charred debris forms on the grate surface of the grill. This charred debris is formed from the foods, such as meat or vegetables, being cooked on the grate surface. The presence of this charred debris can negatively affect the taste and appearance of food being cooked. Debris buildup can also pose a fire hazard. Thus, grill users are encouraged to regularly remove the charred debris. A wide variety of cleaning tools are commercially available for this task, including many brush and scraper tools.
Unfortunately, most commercially-available cleaning tools suffer from a number of drawbacks. Brushes often become clogged with debris and cannot be effectively cleaned. More importantly, metal brushes pose a safety risk to users. Wire bristles can break loose and get into the food. Ingesting food that contains wire bristles from wire brushes is potentially very dangerous.
Scrapers generally have a ridged scraping surface that can only clean the very top surface of the grill grate, while leaving debris remaining on the sides and bottoms of the grill grate. Scrapers made of metal are better at removing debris but can damage certain grill grates.